Online Mentoring: Innovative Uses of Technology in Creating and Managing Mentor-Mentee Relationships

Lauren Andrews

Why is there a 15 million person mentoring gap in this country? The benefits of mentoring are well established, yet the vast majority of youth-development organizations do not have the tools or resources necessary to add a quality mentoring component to their programming. Mentor/mentee relationships can (and do!) thrive in the online environment Created by iMentor and informed by best practices of our successful New York City program, iMi was designed with non-profits in mind.

CANCELLED - You Can’t Get What You Want Until You Know What You Need: Choosing the Right Software

Susan Low Saadat

A lot of time, energy and money goes into using your organization’s software, but do you invest enough when deciding which product to buy or use? We’ll help you make better choices by helping you understand how to: 1) define your organization’s needs, 2) develop your list of wants, 3) determine your budget, 4) narrow the field of contenders, 5) create a software, vendor and proposal evaluation process and 6) get a handle on the project scope and budget. Armed with this new knowledge, deciding on your organization’s next software adoption will be a piece of cake.

Stupid ODB Tricks for Facebook, ConstantContact, and LinkedIn

Rich Cowan

Do you feel boxed in by Web 2.0? If you are a typical nonprofit (like OC was 5 weeks ago) with a database full of home addresses and email contacts, but no really presence on the social networks like Facebook/myspace that are replacing email for social communications, then this workshop is for you! Using some cool features of Organizers' Database and mailman or ConstantContact with these sites, we will show how you can quickly get out of the "box" and build a social networking presence -- while keeping your fundraising data offline and secure. And we will discuss ways to use that presence to raise funds and improve outreach, particularly to younger folks.

The Untapped Power of Social Networks for Grassroots Action

Stephen Wilmarth

Social networks are rapidly evolving beyond the simple purpose of connecting friends and family in communities of shared interests. Powerful new tools, mash-ups, and a "semantic" web are transforming what it means to "be," to "know," and to "do." Organizations, whether for profit or non-profit, are wise to take heed of recent remarkable developments in networks that grow and produce knowledge "organically." Ignoring the inexorable technologies and sociologies at work is the greatest risk an organization can face in maintaining its relevancy and effectiveness in the 21st century.

Getting the Clicks: e-Campaigning in -Campaigning in Communities without Many Computers

Eric Bryant and Kevin Palmer

Who do you have to work with to "make it all happen?" This presentation will provide practical tips and advice to those ramping up for Internet-based campaigns. How do you get a physical person to go to a computer and take action in support of your cause? Two presenters from the CTC VISTA Project will give an overview of constituent-energizing methods that have succeeded in communities without much in the way of resources.